Dolly apparatus

ABSTRACT

Two interconnected dollies having jacks applied to parallel beams under a mobile home. Torque is applied to the wheels of the dollies, for shifting the mobile home laterally. The dollies have different heights in a first or in an inverted position, so as to adapt to lesser working room.

[ 1 June 3, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Austin 254/DlG. l

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4 Primary Friagna [52] U 8 Cl Attorney, Agent, or FirmDuane C. Bowen [57] ABSTRACT Two interconnected dollies havin Int. 860k 25/00 [58] Field of Search............. 280/3; 254/], 2 R, 2 C, 254/6 R, 6 C, 7 R, 7 C; 52/143 3 jacks applied to parallel beams under a mobile home. Torque is ap- [56] References Cited DOLLY APPARATUS BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTIVES My invention relates to dollies for shifting it mobile home laterally including means applying lilting action to the under-framework of the home. The dollics are driven by a torque wrench or the like.

In installation of a mobile home having a single sec tion. oftentimes it is impractical to pull the mobile home section to the exact location desired and it is needed to shift the mobile home laterally to the exact desired location. In larger mobile homes having two sections side by side. once a first section is in place. the second section needs to be shifted laterally into its final position abutting the first section. A common expedient to do this in the past was to use hydraulic jacks. positioned and repositioned a number of times manually. and this has been very time consuming and expensive.

The objectives of my invention include: to devise improved means for shifting a mobile home or mobile home section laterally; to provide in the foregoing. means for lifting the home. means for providing antifrictional support. and means for application of force to shift the mobile home; to devise dolly means for shifting mobile homes laterally incorporating means for lifting the home. for providing antifrictional support. and for driving the dolly means to achic\e the lateral shift; to provide dolly means for such purposes which is adaptable to different amounts of working room under the framework of the home; and to devise apparatus achieving the foregoing actions that are economical. that have suitable durability for the conditions and weights involved, that can be manually powered. and that will save substantial labor in the shifting operation.

My invention will be best understood. together with additional objectives and advantages thereof. from the following description. read with reference to the drawings. in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view showing a first mobile home section and a second mobile home section to be shifted laterally into abutment with the first mobile home section. and including a view of a specific embodiment of my new dolly means.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pair of dollies. on enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view. partly in section.

FIG. 4 is a view like FIG. 3. only the dolly is inverted.

FIG. 5 is a view of a dolly primarily in horizontal section.

FIG. 1 indicates one type of mobile home in common use which is made up of two units and 12. To use terminology common in the field. housing section It) may be the A-half. or the U-unit. standing for the utility half. meaning it is common to try to locate parts of a mobile home requiring attachment to utilities such as water and sewer lines in one half of the house. The other unit I2 can be called the B-half. or the X-unit. or the expanding. living half. A mobile home will be most often located in a mobile home park. It may be possible to locate unit 10 by towing it directly into position. However. sometimes there will not be needed access or there will be some need for shifting to the final site. and my new dollies could be used for that purpose. In any case. it will be somewhat common to locate the utility half Ill and later to move the expanding living half I2 into abutment. FIG. I illustrates the use of my dollies (ill in achieving this shifting action. Sometimes a mobile home will be of single width. and my dollies will be useful in case a single width mobile home cannot be towed to the exact position desired. or if the single width mobile home is generally located in position but still needs some linal adjustment. When the term "mobile home is used in this specification and in the claims. it is to be interpreted either as a single width mobile home or as one-half of a double width mobile home. Further. the term should be interpreted to cover other buildings and the like needing shifting in the manner of mobile homes. although they may not be used as homes as such. but have the same needs for lifting. for antifrictional support. and for driving.

As indicated before. commonly in the past hydraulic jacks have been positioned manually to achieve shifting. The jacks usually would need to be located a number of times. As this is accomplished partly under the house. working room is limited. As a result. much man power can be used. and it will be understood from the following description that shifting operations can be achieved with my dolly means in a fraction of the time that otherwise would be taken.

In moving a mobile home section like 12 into abutment with a unit [0. a common procedure is. first. to move the tongue end into abutment and then. second. to move the other end into abutment. A tongue is symbolically indicated at 14. As it is exposed and convenient to operate upon. the movers may still use single hydraulic jacks to operate on the tongue to move that end of the unit I2 into abutment. On the other hand. my dolly system is applicable for this use. Whether or not one of my dollies will be used on the tongue end of unit I2 will depend upon which can be done more rapidly or conveniently.

As suggested before. the difficult end to move is the opposite end wherein operations must be conducted in limited space under unit I2. Usually a single width unit. or a half of a double width unit. will have parallel. spaced-apart members I6, 18 serving the functions of beams. Of course floor joists will extend laterally of beams l6, l8 and the axles 20 for wheels 22 will be secured thereto. Frequently there will be two axles and sometimes three. There is a limit on the weight that can be supported by an axle. One example is a single width mobile home weighing about l2.500 pounds and having about 3.000 pounds on each of three axles. Another example is a unit of roughly l0.000 pounds and having about 3,740 pounds on each of two axles. A further example is one-half of a double width mobile home weighing l6.500 pounds and having about 6,000 pounds on each of two axles. Of course it will be understood that part of the total mobile home weight is supported by the tongue. The point of these figures on weight is that my dolly unit must support quite heavy weights and must be built very substantially. It may be considered surprising that a low. small dolly can support these weights. but my dollies have been proven in operation. Incidentally. although preferably my dollies are used with jacks lifting on beams such as I6, [8. it would be possible to put them under wheels 22'. but lifting wheels would appear to he usually disadvantageous as operations are simpler when they are applied directly to beams 16, I8.

FIG. I shows a pair of dollies 30 disposed each under one of the beams of l6. 18. Units 30 are shown in more detail in other views but it will be understood from FIGv I that they are directed laterally of beams l6. I8 and are capable. once beams I6. I8 are supported by jacks from the dollies. of providing antifrictional support and lateral movement. Further. as later described. torque is applied to the heels of the dollies to pro\ ide the motive power in achieving the lateral shift.

In referring to FIG. 2. the pair ofdollies are shown secured together by rod-shaped members 32. These are not shown in FIG. l because of the scale of the view but the tubes would be used in this application. Commonly inch pipe, having other applications about a mobile home site. will be used. Pipes 32 are received by sock ets 34 on adjacent corners ofdollies 30. Each socket 34 has an open cylindrical passage 36 to receive a tube 32. and turn screws 38 are used to secure the tube 32 in position. The distance between beams l6. I8 controls the spacing between dollies 30. An example of this distance would be about seven feet.

Antifrictional support of dollies 30 is provided by rol ler means. Whereas the roller means can have different forms. the construction shown is convenient to use and adaptable to the very high weights to be supported. It will be seen that the four wheels on each dolly 30 include a first pair of wheels 40 and a second pair of wheels 42. Wheels 40 have a common axis of rotation and wheels 42 have a common axis of rotation. The axles or shafts for wheels 40. 42 and the bearings therefor will not be detailed as these can follow standard practices and take different forms. However. one shaft is adapted for torque application and hence the wheels associated therewith will need to be keyed to that shaft or otherwise secured thereto. More will be described later about the jack means. but it will be noted at this point the vertical axis of the jack is between the axes of rotation of both pairs of wheels 40, 42 and. further.

the wheels extend laterally to both sides of a vertical plane through the vertical axis of the jack and extending at right angles to the axes of rotation of the wheels. The purpose of this arrangement is that preferably the jack is supported stably on the dolly so that it can be applied to a beam I6, 18 by upward lifting pressure but does not need to be secured to the beam. Dolly frames are shown as having metal plates forming side walls 44 and end walls 46. Partial walls 48 may be used for shaft and bearing medial supports. Support for a jack is shown as having the form of a plate 50 extending between and secured to side walls 44. Hydraulic jacks 52 are shown symbolically in FIGS. 3 and 4. They rest on plate 50. They may be restrained in position by ribs 54 around the base ofjack 52. Alternatively. jacks 52 may be bolted in place and openings 56 are shown for that purpose if bolting is desired.

The axes of rotation of wheels 40. 42 are closer to a first face 62 of the dolly frame than to the second face and plate 50 is closer to face 60 than face 62. This jack 52 is higher than in the FIG. 4 inverted position.

On occasion. this may be too high considering the amount of clearance between the ground and beams I6. I8. In that case. the dolly 30 can be inverted to the FIG. 4 position wherein the jack 52 sits low in the unit and there is minimum clearance between the ground and the face 60 of the frame.

Force to shift the trailer unit. such as 12. may be provided in the following manner. At least one dolly (usw ally both dollies as they will usually be made alike) has a shaft extending substantially beyond the adjacent frame side wall 44. The end 72 of shaft 70 is shaped in a polygonal manner (i.e.. hexagonal) to accept a standard ratcheted torque wrench. Such a torque wrench is indicated at 74 in FIG. 2. The operator merely applies torque to shaft 70 by means of torque wrench 74 to provide motive power (it has already been noted that the associated wheels 42 would be keyed or otherwise secured to shaft 70). A pipe can be slipped on the end of torque wrench 74 if additional leverage is needed. Driving one set of wheels 42 will usually be sufficient to provide the force needed to move dollies 30. with one end of mobile home unit 12 supported thereon. to shift that end into abutment with the other housing unit I0. Usually it will be the rear wheels 42 of the rear dolly 30 that will be driven.

The operation of my equipment has been substantially covered by the foregoing description. However. to briefly review the operation. the tongue end of unit 12 will be shifted into position (with use of my dollies or otherwise in the case of a unit I2 to be brought into abutment with unit 10. Then a pair of dollies 30 will be secured together by tubes 32 with a spacing such that jacks 52 on dollies 30 will be spaced apart the same dis tance as beams l6. 18. The pair of dollies 30 will be inserted in place under beams 16. I8. Hydraulic jacks 52 will be operated to lift the associated end of mobile home unit I2 sufficiently so that the weight of that end will be then supported on dollies 30. Then the operator will use torque wrench 74 and end 72 of shaft 70 of the rearmost dolly to provide the force to accomplish the shifting action. Whether the dollies 30 will have the FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 disposition will depend on the clearance available under the mobile home. It will be understood that my construction can be made with sufficient strength to support the weights involved. My construetion is relatively simple in view of the requirements it meets. and the dollies can be fabricated at an economical price commensurate with the field of application. The dolly system can be operated easily and rapidly.

Having thus described my invention. I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact details of construction shown. Instead I wish to cover those modi fications thereof that will occur to those skilled in the art upon learning of my invention. and that properly fall within the scope of my invention.

I claim:

I. Dolly means for lifting a mobile home and shifting said home laterally comprising a frame. roller means supporting said frame and journaled therein for shifting said home. and lifting means supported by said frame and upwardly directed to engage the undersurface of said home on its under-framework. said roller means including at least a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart. said lifting means comprising jack means located on a vertical axis ex tending between said axes of a rotation. said frame ha\ ing first and second invertible faces. said jack means having support means on said frame operative to support said jack means in either ofthe invertible positions of said frame. and said roller means having bearings closer to said first face of said frame than to said second face so that said jack means will be lower in one position of said frame than the other so as to engage this anderframeworks of mobile homes hieh are closer to the ground than others.

2. The subject matter ofclaim l in which a fitting is secured to one of said roller means adapted for the application of torque to rotate said one of said roller means for shifting of such mobile homes.

3. The subject matter ofclaim l in which said frame includes side and end walls secured together. said support means for said jack means including a plate extending between and secured to said side walls and between said rollers and nearer to said second face of said frame than said first face and said jack means being supported on said plate. thereby further lowering said jack means when said first face of said frame is up.

4. Dolly means for shifting a mobile home laterally including means for lifting said home by lifting action on a pair of parallel. spaced-apart longitudinal beams members under said home. comprising a pair of dolly units. one for each of said beams. and rigid adjustable connecting means between said dolly units. so that said units will move together. each dolly unit having an invertible frame and roller means supporting and journaled in said frame. and each dolly unit having jack means supported by said frame in either invertible position and upwardly directed. whereby said jack means may be used for lifting action and said roller means provides anti-frictional support during shifting of said mobile home. said rigid. adjustable connecting means be tween said dolly units including a pair of parallel, spaccdapart. rigid. metal rod-shaped members. said frames having socket members on opposite sides with cylindrical passages in which said rod-shaped members are adjustably positioned. and adjustable securing members for said socket members for securing said rod-shaped member in said socket members in positions responsive to the spacing of said beams.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 in which the frame of each dolly unit includes side walls and support means for said jack means including a support member on which said jack means rests supported by said side walls. said roller means including a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart with said jack means located therebetween. said frame having first and second invertible faces. said jack means being supportable on said support member in either of (ill the in\ ertible positions of said frame. said roller means ha\ing bearings closer to said first face of said frame than said second face and said support member for said jack means being closer to said second face of said frame than said first face. whereby said jack means is lower when said first face is up thereby to adapt to mobile home beams closer to the ground than others.

6. Dolly means for shifting a mobile home laterally including means for lifting said home by lifting action on the underframework of said home. comprising a frame. roller means supporting. and journaled in. said frame. jack means supported by said frame and upwardly directed. whereby said jack means may be used for said lifting action and said roller means provides antifrictional support during shifting of said mobile home. and said roller means including at least a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart. said jack means being located on a vertical axis extending between said axes of rotation. said jack means hav ing support means supporting said jack means in said frame with the bottom of said jack means closer to the bottom face of said frame than is the plane of said axes of rotation of said roller means. so that said jack means is supported low in said frame in order to move said dolly means under mobile home under-frameworks rel atively close to the ground.

7. Dolly means for shifting a mobile home laterally including means for lifting said home by lifting action on a pair of parallel. spaced-apart longitudinal beam members under said home. comprising a pair of independent dolly units. one for each of said beams. and rigid. adjustable connecting means between said dolly units so that said units will move together. each dolly unit having an invertible frame and roller means sup porting. and journaled in. said frame. each dolly unit having jack means supported by said frame in either invertible position and upwardly directed whereby said jack means may be used for lifting action and said roller means provides antifrictional support during shifting of said mobile home. said connecting means including at least one elongated rigid rod and means on said frames adjustably securing the ends of said rod permitting connecting of said frames at different distances apart to adjust to different spacings of such longitudinal beam members of such mobile homes. 

1. Dolly means for lifting a mobile home and shifting said home laterally comprising a frame, roller means supporting said frame and journaled therein for shifting said home, and lifting means supported by said frame and upwardly directed to engage the undersurface of said home on its under-framework, said roller means including at least a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart, said lifting means comprising jack means located on a vertical axis extending between said axes of a rotation, said frame having first and second invertible faces, said jack means having support means on said frame operative to support said jack means in either of the invertible positions of said frame, and said roller means having bearings closer to said first face of said frame than to said second face so that said jack means will be lower in one position of said frame than the other so as to engage this underframeworks of mobile homes which are closer to the ground than others.
 1. Dolly means for lifting a mobile home and shifting said home laterally comprising a frame, roller means supporting said frame and journaled therein for shifting said home, and lifting means supported by said frame and upwardly directed to engage the undersurface of said home on its under-framework, said roller means including at least a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart, said lifting means comprising jack means located on a vertical axis extending between said axes of a rotation, said frame having first and second invertible faces, said jack means having support means on said frame operative to support said jack means in either of the invertible positions of said frame, and said roller means having bearings closer to said first face of said frame than to said second face so that said jack means will be lower in one position of said frame than the other so as to engage this underframeworks of mobile homes which are closer to the ground than others.
 2. The subject matter of claim 1 in which a fitting is secured to one of said roller means adapted for the application of torque to rotate said one of said roller means for shifting of such mobile homes.
 3. The subject matter of claim 1 in which said frame includes side and end walls secured together, said support means for said jack means including a plate extending between and secured to said side walls and between said rollers and nearer to said second face of said frame than said first face and said jack means being supported on said plate, thereby further lowering said jack means when said first face of said frame is up.
 4. DollY means for shifting a mobile home laterally including means for lifting said home by lifting action on a pair of parallel, spaced-apart longitudinal beams members under said home, comprising a pair of dolly units, one for each of said beams, and rigid adjustable connecting means between said dolly units, so that said units will move together, each dolly unit having an invertible frame and roller means supporting and journaled in said frame, and each dolly unit having jack means supported by said frame in either invertible position and upwardly directed, whereby said jack means may be used for lifting action and said roller means provides anti-frictional support during shifting of said mobile home, said rigid, adjustable connecting means between said dolly units including a pair of parallel, spacedapart, rigid, metal rod-shaped members, said frames having socket members on opposite sides with cylindrical passages in which said rod-shaped members are adjustably positioned, and adjustable securing members for said socket members for securing said rod-shaped member in said socket members in positions responsive to the spacing of said beams.
 5. The subject matter of claim 4 in which the frame of each dolly unit includes side walls and support means for said jack means including a support member on which said jack means rests supported by said side walls, said roller means including a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart with said jack means located therebetween, said frame having first and second invertible faces, said jack means being supportable on said support member in either of the invertible positions of said frame, said roller means having bearings closer to said first face of said frame than said second face and said support member for said jack means being closer to said second face of said frame than said first face, whereby said jack means is lower when said first face is up thereby to adapt to mobile home beams closer to the ground than others.
 6. Dolly means for shifting a mobile home laterally including means for lifting said home by lifting action on the underframework of said home, comprising a frame, roller means supporting, and journaled in, said frame, jack means supported by said frame and upwardly directed, whereby said jack means may be used for said lifting action and said roller means provides antifrictional support during shifting of said mobile home, and said roller means including at least a pair of rollers with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart, said jack means being located on a vertical axis extending between said axes of rotation, said jack means having support means supporting said jack means in said frame with the bottom of said jack means closer to the bottom face of said frame than is the plane of said axes of rotation of said roller means, so that said jack means is supported low in said frame in order to move said dolly means under mobile home under-frameworks relatively close to the ground. 